I see from today’s Northern Echo that a man from Hartlepool appeared at court and “has denied microwaving a hamster to death”. 😦

I wonder if he intends to enter a plea of ‘not guilty’ at his forthcoming trial, based on the pretext that he was simply ‘acting in the national interest’? Perhaps he was just applying modern methods to an age-old problem and he genuinely believed the hamster to be a spy? It’s possible, after all, it’s not as far-fetched as many of the excuses reasons offered by miscreants in the North East to escape their punishment at court.

Failing that, perhaps he feels he is just a modern-day Monkey Hanger, upholding the traditions of the town that have since become folklore? 🙂

There will be a lot of Chimps dancing for joy when they discover punishment in the 21st century has moved on a pace. After all, how many domestic microwaves are big enough to fit a monkey in? 🙂